With Extra Virgin, chef Michael Smith has finally brought not only the flavors but the feel of his beloved southern European trattorias and tavernas to Kansas City. From the vibrant colors — tomato red polished Venetian plaster walls and burnt-brick-stained wood tables — to the original, wall-sized billboard ad for “La Dolce Vita” with a larger-than-life Anita Ekberg spilling out of a strapless gown and Marcello Mastroianni dangling a smoldering cigarette from his lips, this is a dining room that quickens your pulse. And your appetite. Abstracted “vines” by local metal artist Jesse Small cloak the bar. A bundle of globe lamps float overhead like soap bubbles. It’s all as fanciful and light as the soundtrack to Fellini’s 1960 masterpiece. The sweet life, indeed. So you sink down onto a generously proportioned bentwood chair... [read full story]
